Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member to take note of a few things in the budget implementation act that I believe are of benefit not only to his riding and to Quebec but to all of Canada.

I would ask if he is prepared to support and is interested in supporting the program that is going to look for youth entrepreneurs. It is a very important program that I know has had great benefits.

Genome Canada is well known across the country in terms of the very important work it does, as is CNIB in terms of the hub that it will be creating, and I could go on and on about the improvements in veterans' benefits.

How can and how will the member justify to his constituents his voting against all of these very important measures that will help him directly in his riding, as well as help Canadians across the country?

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 1st, 2013

Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my opening remarks, we are the government that understands that every dollar we spend is a dollar out of Marsha the nurse's pocket and a dollar out of someone else's pocket.

As I looked at the NDP platform and saw the extraordinary list of expenditures they intended to make, I could feel many people wanting to tighten up, sew up, their pockets to protect their very hard-earned dollars.

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 1st, 2013

Mr. Speaker, certainly the tradition of the House has been that there is a budget that is tabled and there is legislation that follows, so I cannot speak to what will be coming.

We do know that in the budget there were a few other measures that the Minister of Finance will perhaps look at moving forward at some other date.

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 1st, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the minister presented the budget in the spring of this year. We had comprehensive debate regarding it. I cannot speak for the decisions of what the committee does in terms of moving forward for study.

However, if I look at the threads that go throughout the budget implementation act, we are seeing things we have actually heard for well over a year. I believe the opposition can do its homework. There are 160 some pages.

I look forward to having the opposition come on board and supporting this very important bill.

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 1st, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I too am very pleased to rise today to speak to the budget implementation act, economic action plan 2013.

First, we have to note that this is a very timely discussion, because of course, yesterday, April 30, was our tax-filing deadline. By yesterday, there were probably about 28 million individuals throughout Canada who had filed their taxes, and we know that they put over $120 billion into taxpayers' coffers. We have almost two million corporations who again put significant dollars into our coffers.

Too often I hear the opposition members talk about OAS for people who have been residents for only three years, 45-day work years and private member's bills and many motions that ask us to increase spending. This is not the government's money. This is not the opposition's money. We are talking about the hard-earned dollars of everyday Canadians. This is the nurse who works for maybe $70,000 a year, but she might be paying up to $20,000 in taxes. This is the family that works in a corner store. The mother, father and the children are there seven days a week, 16 hours a day, to try to make a living for their family and pay their taxes on time. This is the entrepreneur. He has an idea and is starting a business. He has hired some people. He has dreams and goals and is desperately trying to make it a success. He pays his taxes, and that comes in terms of opportunities he could spend that money on in other ways.

We as a government recognize that we have a very important obligation to the taxpayer, and that is to make sure that every single dollar we spend is spent appropriately. Canadians are generous, but Canadians also expect fair play. Canadians know that there are times when there are extraordinary challenges, whether it is health, mental health, or disability. They have challenges in their lives. They have times when they might lose their jobs.

Again, Canadians are very generous. They understand that there are times when, for the greater good, they will participate, but they do not want to feel abused. They do not want to feel that their EI programs are abused. They do not want to feel that temporary foreign worker programs are not being used appropriately. As we have this debate about the budget implementation act No. 1, it is absolutely critical to remember whose dollars we are spending and whose dollars we are talking about.

The context for the budget for this year was articulated very well by my colleague from Saint Boniface. She talked about the global recession we came through, when we had to put in some extraordinary stimulus. Then she talked about how well we have done in reports from the OECD and the IMF. Canada has come through a very challenging time in very good shape. However, we are now responsible for withdrawing that stimulus spending and returning to balanced budgets, and that is exactly the focus of this budget implementation act.

This budget implementation act focuses on three areas. Most important is ensuring that we have an environment that supports growth and long-term prosperity. Second is continuing to support Canadian families and communities. Finally is respecting the Canadian taxpayer.

The budget implementation act is divided into three sections. The first two relate to our tax structure and our GST. The third section has more details in terms of specific measures we are looking at.

We did not come to this place without a long and comprehensive process. Not only was the context set many years ago, but the conversations with Canadians had been happening for well over a year before we got to this point. As a member of the finance committee, I know that we started our consultations in the summer of last year. We heard from groups from across the country, and we gave them three themes. We asked how we support economic growth and long-term prosperity, how we support Canadian families, and how we ensure that we respect taxpayers' dollars.

We need to talk a bit about what we heard. Whether it was a parliamentarian sitting down with people in his or her riding or the Minister of Finance having round tables across the country, we heard about supporting jobs and economic growth.

I heard time and time again that mining is important in British Columbia. We heard that the mining exploration tax credit is an absolutely critical feature and that we should continue to support that industry, which ultimately provides so much back in terms of our tax base.

We also heard that manufacturers have been having a challenging time. They have found that the accelerated capital cost allowance is of enormous benefit. They indicated that if it continued for a while longer, it would really support them as they continue to rebuild after what have been some challenging times.

Every member of Parliament talked to council members and mayors. They talked about the infrastructure deficit. They talked about how important the gas tax fund was and how pleased they were that it was doubled and will now be legislated. They also talked about indexing it. We heard that suggestion from our municipalities, and we took action. Now municipalities are not only able to plan for the long term, but every infrastructure program they undertake will have important jobs associated with it.

I heard in my riding that the temporary foreign worker program plays a valuable role and that there are times when Canadians are unavailable to meet the needs of employers. We also heard that we need to ensure that Canadians have first crack at these jobs. The budget implementation act would make those changes. Canadians have said that the temporary foreign worker program has a role to play and is important but that we need to make some changes to ensure that Canadians have the first opportunities for these jobs.

It is incredibly important to provide some general fairness to all Canadian taxpayers. Therefore, we have included measures that would close loopholes and ensure that everyone pays their fair share. As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, I know that there are a number of measures. I talked earlier about the amount of money that comes in from individuals. Over 94% of Canadians pay their taxes on time. They pay what is due.

We know that there are some loopholes, or perhaps some inequities. We have changed that. We know that people sometimes move their money offshore. We have taken the opportunity to give the CRA more tools to deal with that.

The final theme is supporting Canadian families and communities.

Every member, I believe, has a legion in his or her community. Members heard from legion members about how important they were in supporting our veterans.

I see a number of items in Division 4 of this legislation. Officials from the CNIB talked to me about a hub and how that could really improve their lives. That is another important item we see in the budget implementation act.

Finance committee did a comprehensive study on charitable giving. We were looking for ways to encourage young people to give to the charities that play such an important role in our communities. The donor super credit is a fantastic idea. It is targeted at encouraging people to give for the first time. That will probably help in terms of lifelong giving.

The federal government is like any household, any business, any municipality or any provincial government. The principles are the same. We have a budget. We have to live within it. It is absolutely critical that we get back to balanced budgets. It is absolutely critical, as a federal government, that we create an environment that encourages jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.

The budget implementation act, Bill C-60, is an excellent step in terms of the long term and fair taxes. I call on the opposition to support our government in terms of this important and strategic document with its very good measures to move forward with respect to Canada's growth.

Taxation April 26th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Revenue Agency is not laying off tax evasion experts. These people are key to battling tax cheats and ensuring fairness for taxpayers.

We have moved some positions to allow better coordination between Canada Revenue Agency and the RCMP. People now file their taxes electronically, so we do not need as many data managers.

We have some very important measures in economic action plan 2013 to close tax loopholes, going over toward those who would evade taxes. I call on the NDP to support economic action plan 2013.

Taxation April 26th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the vast majority of Canadians pay their taxes on time.

In 2011-12, 94% paid their taxes. That was reported. The outstanding tax debt is an inventory of amounts that are known, undisputed and are under collection by Canada Revenue Agency.

We do take a balanced approach in terms of tax fairness for all Canadians, but not unnecessary hardships in terms of individuals' families. Last year, 2011-12, we collected $40 billion in unpaid taxes.

Canada Revenue Agency April 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is a very experienced politician, and he knows that the minister has no involvement in administrative individual tax cases.

Independent, non-partisan public servants with the Canada Revenue Agency are responsible for the administration and enforcement of Canada's tax legislation.

Canada Revenue Agency April 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the minister has no responsibility whatsoever in the administration of individual tax cases. Non-partisan public servants of the Canada Revenue Agency are responsible both for the administration and enforcement of the tax legislation.